Wednesday Journal unfurls redesigned pages

To our readers

Photo by Andrew JohnstonSuper-vision: Designer Phillip Ritzenberg works with Editorial Design Manager Rebecca Lomax on Wednesday Journal's first major redesign in its 25-year history.

With today's edition, Wednesday Journal debuts its most complete redesign since our founding 25 years ago. Some of the changes are as notable as the new flag atop page one. Others are much more subtle, including use of a new and more legible body text called Nimrod. Taken together, though, each change is aimed at making the Journal cleaner, more readable, and better organized.

The basic underpinnings of the paper remain the same, though the feature section is now called LifeLines and the events section is now simply titled Calendar. At the request of many readers we have also reintroduced an index on page one.

The redesign is the work of Phillip Ritzenberg, a New York-based newspaper designer. Ritzenberg, design editor for many years at the New York Daily News, has previously designed or redesigned two other Wednesday Journal, Inc. publications, Chicago Journal and Chicago Parent.

In addition to the new look at our Oak Park and River Forest flagship, a new design debuts today at the Forest Park Review, Riverside-Brookfield Landmark and Austin Weekly News.

The redesign was executed by Editorial Design Manager Rebecca Lomax and her colleagues Mark Tatara and Katie Reinecke.